Ivy League Committee Approves Concussion-Deterrent Measures for Football
A committee of Ivy League head football coaches, administrators, expert consultants, team physicians and athletic trainers has been formed in an attempt to lower the incidence of concussion and sub-concussive hits in football.
The initiative was launched after Ivy League presidents became concerned that concussions are a significant injury in football and wanted the Ivy League to take an active leadership role in developing steps to limit concussions.
After reviewing data and research regarding concussions and head hits in football, and looking at current NCAA and Ivy League rules and practices, the committee proposed several recommendations that are to take effect this coming season. The available research suggested that concussions can have both acute consequences and also more long-term ramifications. Multiple hits sustained in football, may have a role in the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in some individuals. Given the lack of data regarding the number or type of hits that may cause long-term consequences in certain individuals, the committee concluded that it is important to minimize the likelihood and severity of hits to the head
The committee’s recommendations included limits to the number of full-pad/contact practices that can take place throughout the football year. The new in-season practice limitations permit no more than two full-contact days per week, a 60-percent reduction from the NCAA maximum. Spring practice will see the number of allowable full-contact practices cut by one, a 12-percent reduction from Ivy League limits and a 42-percent reduction from the NCAA maximum. The number of days that pads can be worn during both sessions of preseason two-a-days has been limited to one. Beginning with the 2011 season, there will also be more stringent post-game League review of helmet-to-helmet and targeted hits, with the goal of taking appropriate but firm action in response to such hits, including suspensions for helmet-to-helmet hits deemed intentional.
There will also be further emphasis on educating student-athletes on proper tackling techniques, the signs and symptoms of a concussion and the potential short- and long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma. Recommendations also stress the need for students to report any symptoms of a concussion. A key component of this educational process will be changing the mentality of some student-athletes regarding the seriousness of concussive injuries.
Education will also be at the forefront on the field. Practices will continue to include the teaching of proper football fundamentals and techniques to avoid leading with the head, as well as placing an emphasis on avoiding hits against defenseless players.
While the committee’s recommendations focus solely on football, the Ivy League will next conduct similar reviews of men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer.
Former Players Accuse NFL of Concealing Concussion Risks
Seventy-five former NFL players have filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, which alleges that the league has known as early as the 1920’s about the harmful effects that concussions may have on a player’s brain, but did nothing about it.
More specifically, they allege, the league concealed the information from players until 2010, when a related warning to players was issued on the potential risks of multiple concussions. A major long-time NFL supplier of protective helmets was also named in the suit.
The players claimed that they have suffered injuries due to multiple concussions sustained during their time in the NFL. They accused the league of “fraud and deceit” by denying a link between concussions endured during play and any later ensuing cognitive decline. The lawsuit did not specify a monetary sum that the players are seeking.
Recreation Department Steps Up on Concussion Testing, Despite Legal Risk
Detroit Lions linebacker Vinny Ciurciu suffered two concussions during the 2010 season. That’s all it took apparently to trigger what’s believed to be the first recreation department policy requiring athletes to take a computerized cognitive baseline test before participating in contact sports. Cognitive tests give coaches and athletic trainers a baseline against which to compare post-concussion tests.
Vinny’s brother is John Ciurciu, recreation director at Franklin Lakes (N.J.) Recreation and Parks Department and a former Rutgers University fullback. John was concerned that if it could happen to his brother, it could happen to kids too. John felt it was important to protect kids from concussions and figure out a way for them to come back safely.
Ciurciu is hardly alone in addressing the problem. Earlier this year, North Carolina adopted the Gfeller-Waller Concussion Act, which was named after two football players who died after suffering concussions in 2009. One expert called it the best in the country because of its strong educational component.
Despite initiatives, such as the one in Franklin Lakes, the National Recreation and Park Association has been slow to recommend that other local park and recreation agencies follow suit.
Why?
James Kozlowski, associate professor at George Mason University’s School of Recreation, Health and Tourism and a legal/legislative policy consultant to the NRPA Division of Public Policy, told the media that adopting testing programs may expose the departments to possible litigation. “With testing you assume a duty that you don’t otherwise have. You’ve got what amounts to a medical screening procedure taken on by a non-medical group in sort of a knee-jerk reaction to the public’s general concern about concussions,” Kozlowski told Athletic Business. “If you want to take on that sort of responsibility, just require some sort of medical clearance like schools do. The sports organization then can reasonably rely on the screening information provided by a physician.”
